ALP in trouble in defence electorates

Deep defence cuts are being blamed for Labor struggling to find candidates to contest two winnable seats in Queensland – a state vital to its electoral fortunes.

Labor government sources have told The Australian Financial Review that the search for ALP candidates to take on the LNP in the seats of Herbert and Dawson has so far been fruitless despite both boasting margins of less than 5 per cent.

Almost a fifth of the population of the two seats work on a military base or are members of a military family or veterans.

“It’s difficult enough being a Labor candidate without having to deal with the baggage of the defence cuts,’’ said one Labor MP yesterday.

“And now there is a very real prospect of a second round.’’

Calls for nominations in both seats have been open for months with initial calls failing to find any takers.

But ALP national secretary George Wright said they were just two of 16 preselections yet to be finalised in Queensland.

Defence sources fear that Minister
Stephen Smith
could be seeking up to a further $1 billion from defence as the government seeks to plug a $2.4 billion hole in its budget.

“Stephen Smith has done a tremendous job on the ethical front improving standards of behaviour but there are government MPs who oppose further cuts to defence,’’ Mr Danby said.

Among other MPs believed to have concerns are former Defence Minister
Joel Fitzgibbon
, South Australian right wing power broker
Don Farrell
, Senator Mark Bishop, Victorian right wing powerbroker David Feeney, parliamentary secretary for defence
Mike Kelly
and former Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd,
whose 2009 defence whitepaper is now defunct.

Liberal MP for Dawson,
George Christensen
, whose electorate is next door to Townsville’s Lavarack Barracks said 16 per cent of his electorate boasted military ties.

“Labor has lost 90 per cent of the defence community . . . with the ­existing cuts but another round would be diabolical for the nation and national security,’’ Mr Christensen added.

Mr Smith insisted despite the cuts the government had protected operations, military numbers and core projects.